Immigration

This one starts off on the wrong foot when it defines immigration as ‘the movement of people from their own country to settle permanently in another’. While (as O.E.D. agrees) this is technically correct, the word is almost always much more subjectively used to describe movement into the user’s own country. But, of course, emotive titles sell better. This book is about migration.

The text examines migration’s history, its effects on migrants’ original and host countries, examines the questions of racism, societal benefit and control. It does this with a near-impenetrable turgidity, blessedly relieved by chapter-summaries, fact boxes, and – best of all – ‘viewpoints’ where real writers and orators express their opinions. For the author, despite an advertised 45 other children’s books to her name, appears to have no opinion at all, confining herself to the assembly of facts for the reader’s own unguided evaluation. The result is uninspired and uninspiring. Oh for a real book with a decent authorial stamp about it, which would not only inform but educate and be a pleasure to read.

I doubt if anyone will ever read this one end-to-end, but perhaps that’s not what it’s for – maybe it’s a pick-and-mix selection and the given weblinks do the real job.